So it’s all come down to this. Two teams. One elusive prize.
It’s been interesting to see some uncanny similarities between the Hurricanes and Lions as they won through to rugby’s showpiece last weekend.
Both had to front up to their semis without their injured inspirational skippers Dane Coles (ribs) and Warren Whiteley (shoulder). Whiteley looks likely to play on Saturday while the jury will be out on Coles until minutes before kick off.
The good news was that their replacements were well up to the task.
The improbably named Ricky Riccitelli (why do parents do that?) made an especially good fist at hooker for the Canes.
A couple of wayward early lineout throws notwithstanding, the 21-year-old ripped into his work to make his presence felt with and without the ball including a big hit on All Black opposite Nathan Harris and a desperate scramble that saved a certain Chiefs’ try in the 27th minute.
Riccitelli, last year’s New Zealand under 20 hooker, was replaced by this year’s version when Leni Apisai joined the fray in the 59th minute and looked similarly undaunted by the occasion.
For the Lions 20-year-old Ruan Ackermann more than adequately filled Whiteley’s big boots at No.8, justifying his selection by coach and father Johan. And the pair’s absence hardly rendered their teams rudderless ships.
Lions’ openside and stand-in captain Jaco Kriel revelled in the extra responsibility with an even more workaholic performance than normal to continue his rich vein of form.
His match up with Ardie Savea, who outplayed the All Black Test incumbent on Saturday with another eye-popping display, is reason alone to sit glued to the final.
Although he didn’t quite scale the dizzying heights of his sublime performance in the quarter final thumping of the Sharks the week before, Canes skipper TJ Perenara was his usual self. He exhorted his troops for another massive defensive shift and yet again combining brilliantly to spark his match-winning mate outside him.
Which brings us to another point of similarity – the two freak shows at No.10.
Both Beauden Barrett and Elton Jantjies were match winners for their teams on Saturday. Each busted the game open scoring and setting up tries, pulled the strings to navigate their teams around the park, kicked the goals that needed to be kicked and defended their channels strongly.
Barrett’s audacious banana chip try assist for Willis Haluhalu in the fifth minute prompted Sky Sports Kiwi sideline commentator Ian Smith to ask if there is a more influential player in world rugby right now, receiving an emphatic “no” from his colleague Justin Marshall.
That was half an hour before the boy from the ‘Naki effectively sealed the deal when he intercepted Sam Cane’s gift pass to run away under the posts.
Yet, somehow Jantjies managed to be even more influential for his team at Ellis Park a few hours later. Everything he did turned golden for the Lions in their comprehensive defeat of the Highlanders. Like the running exit from his own 22 that led to a try to the flying left winger Courtnall Skosan to put the game beyond the visitors’ reach seven minutes into the second half.
And his pinpoint left foot cross-field kick for Kriel’s try, that he casually converted from the sideline. Then there was his little chip that replacement lock Lourens Erasmus latched on to to blow the Lions out to 40 -16 in the 72nd minute. It will be brilliant to watch these two spark plugs ignite their sides on Saturday. Each holds so much of their team’s destiny in their hands – and feet.
Another point of similarity is the good form of both teams’ midfield combinations.
Rising star Rohan Janse van Rensburg and his seasoned partner Lionel Mapoe ran 166m, beat eight defenders, made 20 tackles and scored one try between them for the Lions in a standout all round performance.
The stats weren’t quite so compelling for Halaholo and Matt Proctor, but it was another assured display from the Canes’ pairing who are reducing fans’ pining for the fabled Nonu/Smith double act less and less with each outing.
But while there’s some resemblance, there’s plenty of points of difference between the final two contenders.
Foremost among them their scrums. To put it simply, the Lions’ scrum is a great strength they will be looking to win because of while the Canes will be looking to win despite theirs. Although one element helping the home side in this regard is the appointment of ref Glenn Jackson.
A fly half who never got his head near a scrum in his Super playing days for the Chiefs, Jackson is one of those merciful refs (Jaco Peyper is another) who sees the set piece as a means to an end, not an end in itself.
If it collapses and the ball is available at the back, more often than not he’ll let it go. This should serve to mitigate a little against the dominant Lions scrum.
The weight of a scrum is one thing, the weight of history is quite another. Not one of the ten South African sides who have made the long trek have won a play-off match – let alone a final – in New Zealand in the 21 years of Super Rugby.
The 11,757km and umpteen time zones the Lions have had to traverse to reach this fixture cannot be under-estimated. And rather than a sun-drenched Ellis park they will be confronted by a forecast swirlingly windy and bitterly cold Cake Tin, conditions South African teams have failed to cope with this year.
Then there’s the residual scarring from the fact the Hurricanes inflicted the heaviest defeat on the Lions in 2016, the Round 10 50-17 away thumping.
Throw in the redemptive pain from their home final heartache last year, the yellow and black brick wall that has not been breached in two and a half games and the fact it’s beloved son Victor Vito’s 100th and last match for the franchise and I’m picking a glorious finale for the locals.
But not without some exhilarating twists and turns along the way.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
Coming off the bench, he scored a double as the Canes beat the Tahs 41-12.
Ben Grant looked to have scored but the officials found a knock-on after the initial charge down.
In a lopsided first half, attacking opportunities were few and far between for NSW.
The Hurricanes took the lead inside the opening three minutes setting the tone for a dominant first half.
By my count, the Brumbies have played three teams of consequence this season. The first two - the Chiefs and Blues - thrashed them…
Embarrassed by the Blues a week ago, the ACT Brumbies have responded in the best possible fashion by knocking over the previously unbeaten Hurricanes…
